- He started for Atlético Mineiro in the 2024 CONMEBOL Libertadores Final against Botafogo, and joined Boca in January 2025.
- After undergoing Achilles tendon surgery in February this year, he returned in October, started at the Maracanã and could face his former club.
Rodrigo Battaglia had just returned to action in domestic football and was already thinking about doing so in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana. "If I have to play on Tuesday, I'm ready", he said after playing the full 90 minutes against Talleres on October 16, eight months after surgery on his Achilles tendon. Tuesday was the second leg of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana Semifinals against Vasco da Gama at the Maracanã, and Rodolfo Arruabarrena named him in the starting lineup. Boca won 3-1 and will play the Final on Saturday, November 21, at the Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez in Barranquilla, against an opponent the midfielder knows inside out: Atlético Mineiro, the team with which he played the 2024 CONMEBOL Libertadores Final.
It was November 30 of that year, at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. Botafogo, the opponents of the 'Galo', played with ten men from the start after Gregore was sent off and still won 3-1: Luiz Henrique and Alex Telles, from the penalty spot, scored in the first half; Eduardo Vargas pulled one back 2' into the second half, and Júnior Santos sealed the result in stoppage time. Battaglia started in Gabriel Milito's back three, between Lyanco and Junior Alonso. At the end of the night, he summed it up in one sentence: "We had the dream of winning the Cup, but we went down fighting".
He had arrived in Belo Horizonte in April 2023 from Mallorca, after almost a decade in Portuguese and Spanish football, with spells at Braga, Sporting CP and Alavés, among other clubs. Born in Morón and handed his debut by Huracán, he had made a name for himself as a defensive midfielder, and under Milito he moved into central defense. In that position, he was one of the key pieces of the 2024 campaign, in which the 'Galo' won their group and knocked out San Lorenzo, Fluminense and River Plate. Against San Lorenzo, in the Round of 16, he was the one who tipped the tie: in the second leg, in Belo Horizonte, he headed in the 1-0 from a Gustavo Scarpa cross. At the end of the edition, he was named in the team of the tournament, alongside eight players from the champions.
In January 2025, he joined Boca, where he wears the number 6 shirt. The 2026 season set him a long test: in the middle of preseason he suffered an Achilles tendon injury, and on February 2 he underwent surgery, with a recovery prognosis of at least six months. He returned in mid-October, in the 2-1 win over Talleres at La Bombonera, and after the match he spoke about what the comeback had cost him: "I want to thank those who helped me recover, it was a tough injury, I'm very happy with the win and with completing 90 minutes".
While he was recovering, Boca built their path through this CONMEBOL Sudamericana: they arrived after the CONMEBOL Libertadores Group Stage, with Arruabarrena on the bench since June, and knocked out O'Higgins on penalties, Deportivo Recoleta and São Paulo before meeting Vasco da Gama in the Semifinals.
That night in Rio de Janeiro, Boca needed to overturn the 1-0 first-leg defeat at La Bombonera, and they did: Lautaro Di Lollo leveled the tie 3' into the first half and Miguel Merentiel doubled the lead 33' into the first half. With that advantage, Arruabarrena replaced him with Leandro Paredes 11' into the second half. José Luis Rodríguez leveled the aggregate for Vasco 21' into the second half, and the captain, who had also come into the match after an injury, scored the 3-1 that sealed qualification near the end.
In Barranquilla, he will come up against several of those who shared that night at the Monumental with him. Bernard and Alan Franco also played in the 2024 Final and are still in the squad. Everson, Lyanco and Gustavo Scarpa, starters that night, are part of Eduardo Domínguez's group. According to Opta, Atlético Mineiro are also the first Brazilian side to reach the CONMEBOL Sudamericana Final in consecutive years, after last year's penalty shoot-out defeat to Lanús in the decisive match. Boca and Atlético Mineiro have decided only one title between them, the 1993 Copa de Oro, which the 'Xeneize' won 1-0 at La Bombonera after a 0-0 draw in Belo Horizonte. The second Final between the two will have Battaglia on the blue-and-gold side.
At 35, the midfielder has already made clear how he plans to approach this final stretch of the season: "I'm going to help from wherever I'm needed. It's a beautiful feeling to be at this club. At my age, I can't ask for more".
